Kent
Ehrhardt
“News 4 St. Louis” Chief Meteorologist
Kent
Ehrhardt delivers weekday weathercasts during "News 4 St. Louis" at 5:00, 6:00
and 10:00 p.m. Since joining "News 4 St. Louis," Ehrhardt has covered severe weather,
including tornadoes, threatening thunderstorms and snowstorms in the Midwest region.
Ehrhardt joined KMOV Channel 4 as Chief Meteorologist in June of 1998,
marking his return to St. Louis, his hometown. He graduated from Pattonville Senior
High School.
In the summer of 2000, Ehrhardt joined the morning drive
team at CBS Radio Group's KEZK 102.5 FM where he delivers the latest weather forecasts
weekdays for their loyal Soft Rock listeners. Ehrhardt's forecasts can also be
seen everyday in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis' daily newspaper.
Ehrhardt was widely recognized for his expertise in severe weather coverage as
the Chief Meteorologist for 13 years at WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach,
Florida. His career highlights include round-the-clock coverage of hurricanes
Andrew, Gilbert, Hugo, Gordon and Erin. His forecasts were also available in numerous
newspapers as well as on radio throughout south Florida. Ehrhardt was honored
with several awards for his superior hurricane coverage including The Florida
Governor's Hurricane Conference Media Award and The National Hurricane Conference
Media Award. Ehrhardt was also honored with the Missouri Broadcasters Association
Best Weathercast Award in 1999 and 2002.
He holds a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Mass Communications from Southeast Missouri State University and is
certified in Advanced Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University.
Ehrhardt also earned science and meteorology credits from Portland State University,
Lyndon State College, Palm Beach Community College and various conferences and
workshops. In addition, he has earned the American Meteorological Society and
National Weather Association Seals of Approval. He has served as a Board Member
of the National Weather Association and in 1995 was named Member of the Year.
Ehrhardt has been named the "Official Meteorologist" for the American
Lung Association of Eastern Missouri (ALAEM) and, as such, lends his expertise
to that organization in their role of assessing and reporting air quality in our
viewing area. In partnership with the ALAEM, Ehrhardt provides viewers with the
4 Warn Aircast, an exclusive daily forecast broadcast on "News 4 St. Louis" at
5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. (from mid-May through mid-September) in which he forecasts
the next day's air quality.
The 4 Warn Aircast is an annual informational
campaign that educates viewers on the health hazards of poor air quality. The
campaign also encourages residents to make proactive changes to reduce or eliminate
ozone-producing activities during this critical season, in an effort to reduce
the ground level ozone pollution and to help St. Louis clean the air.
In addition, Ehrhardt is the "Official Meteorologist" of the St. Louis Attractions
Association, a non-profit organization representing more than 140 of the metropolitan
area's top attractions. He has also served as "Official Meteorologist" for several
of St. Louis' largest events.
Giving back to the community is important
to Ehrhardt. Throughout the year, he appears at many local schools, churches and
non-profit events. In 2000, the St. Louis Chapter of Special Olympics asked him
to join their Resource Development team. Ehrhardt was very active with Special
Olympics when he was in Florida. In fact, he was inducted into the Palm Beach
County Special Olympics Hall of Fame in 1999, in recognition of his many years
of service there.
Ehrhardt said that he had no plans of leaving the West
Palm Beach area, but then the call came that he couldn't refuse. When he accepted
the position as Chief Meteorologist at KMOV Channel 4, colleagues who learned
he was leaving knew immediately where he was moving. "They knew the only place
I'd go was St. Louis. I'd talked to them forever about the great sense of community
here, about how there's no better place in the world to raise children," Ehrhardt
said.
Ehrhardt's love for the city is limitless. He finds beauty and
enjoyment in all aspects of St. Louis, including the people, the traditions, the
food and the scenery. He considers the Arch, Busch Stadium and the Budweiser sign
on Highway 40 as his favorite landmarks here.
|
